Ah, bedtime. It’s dark outside. Everyone is fed and clean and (hopefully) winding down at the end of the day. Our little one is snuggled up in her bed ready for her story. Its almost time for Mommy to have a little time for herself. If only I didn’t have to read an odd little book about a bunny in an eye jarring red and green room seven times, bedtime would be much more enjoyable.
Don’t get me wrong, Goodnight Moon is a fine book. I just wanted something a little more… pretty. And, perhaps something that could help me wind down from a stressful day as well.
One of the most common questions I get asked when I tell people that I am an illustrator is, “Oh, do you do children’s books?” In the past my response involved a detailed description of medical and scientific illustration, visual communications, logo creation, layout design and perhaps a bit about Norman Rockwell. Some lucky people even got to learn about the evils of stock illustration and the orphan copyright bill. Nowadays, I just smile and say, “Yes!”
The Bedtime Book is now available on Amazon.com in paperback form, and hopefully soon in hardback as well. The words to the book are a poem (an Elizabethan sonnet written in iambic pentameter, to be exact.) I chose this form because I specifically like the way a sonnet sounds as you read it aloud. The rhythm is soothing but not forced, and the rhyme scheme is subtle. I chose images that my then 10 month old daughter could recognize: the sun, the moon, flowers, our cat, the bathtub, her books and toys, etc. And, I chose words that calmed me down as well. It is almost an evening mantra for mothers and fathers. And, I’d much rather be reminded that another evening has come and the world is calming down, than to say goodnight to that bowl of mush one more time.
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